Healing Scars
by dancefan93
Summary: What happens when the fact that Emma's boyfriend has been abusing Henry with Emma's knowing comes out? Warning: slight mention of child abuse


Henry hissed as he dabbed the new cuts on his arms and stomach. He had to hurry before his mom, Emma, got home. He heard the door open and close so he quickly put all the cotton balls and Band-Aid wrappers in the toilet and flushed it. He rolled his sleeves down and exited the bathroom. He saw his mom kissing her boyfriend, Walsh. She pulled away when she saw him.

"Hi Henry. How was school?" Henry just shrugged.

"Fine." Emma walked over and gave him a hug. Henry melted against his mother wishing her hugs could make the pain go away. He hissed quietly when she tightened her grip. She pulled back and looked at him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, a bunch of my friends and I played football after school, some of the guys got a little physical."

"Be careful." Emma kissed his forehead. Henry nodded and watched as his mother went into her room to change from her work clothes. Henry turned around and Walsh was in front of him. He immediately grabbed the teen's neck.

"Start being a man. Stop seeking comfort from your mother because she won't always be around. Learn to be on your own." He back handed Henry so hard he fell to the carpeted floor. This was Henry's life. He never said one word to his mother because she looked so happy with Walsh. After his father left them before he was born, Emma never looked at another man until Walsh. He showed her that she could be loved again. The last thing Henry wanted to do was take that away from his mother.

That all changed one day. Henry was on the soccer team of his school and his coach, Killian Jones, saw he was off.

"Henry, what's going on with you? You've been off for a few days now." He asked Henry as the teen jogged over to his coach.

"Sorry coach, just personal things."

"You need to take some time off?" Killian asked concerned. He always took an interest in his team.

"No coach, I'll be fine." Henry turned around and that's when Killian saw the finger shaped bruises on the back of Henry's calf.

"Swan." Henry turned around and Killian motioned him back. Killian looked over Henry's shoulder. "What happened to your calf? Don't give me some bullshit answer, tell me the truth."

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Henry, do you think I was born yesterday? I know what finger shaped bruises look like. Either you tell me what's going on or I go inside and call DYFS right now." Henry looked impossibly scared. "Henry who is hurting you at home? Is it your mom?"

"No, my mom would never do something like that. She loves me!" Killian held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. It's just everyone thinks because my mom was in jail when she had me and that my dad ran away my mom would hurt me. She loves me she would never hurt me."

"Then who is?" Killian pushed. "Is it that man that sometimes comes with your mom?" Henry remained silent. "Henry, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"He makes my mom happy. She hasn't looked at another since my dad. That was until Walsh came into our lives. I can't let her feel unloved or unwanted. I love her but she needs someone to love her not the way a son does. I can't take that happiness away from her."

"Henry, I may not know your mother but I do know she wouldn't want you to get hurt just so she can be happy. If he's hurting you, she won't be happy."

"Which is why I'm not telling her. She deserves some happiness." Henry looked anywhere but his coach's eyes. Killian sighed he knew he wasn't going to get through to Henry.

"Go, play on the offense." Henry pulled up his sock that at ridden down showing Killian the bruise and ran onto the field. Killian knew he should say something. He decided to something even better. Practice was over and Killian saw Walsh and Emma walking down the hill to collect Henry. Killian went over to the couple and grabbed Walsh by the shirt. "You touch that boy again and I'll hurt you worse than anything could do him."

"What is he talking about?" Emma asked.

"I have no idea." Walsh said surprisingly keeping his cool.

"I saw the bruises on Henry. You hurt him again and I'll hurt you." Emma turned to Walsh.

"Oh! I know what you're talking about. We were wrestling and got really into it. I guess I don't know my own strength. I'll make sure Henry's okay." Emma looked at him then left the two to get Henry. When she reached him, she pulled Henry into her arms. Henry, who had seen the whole thing, hugged his mom tight. Walsh caught his eyes over Killian's shoulder and Henry knew he was dead. His teammates just watched on not sure what to do.

"Let's go. We have a lot to talk about." Emma said gently. As they approached where Killian was still holding Walsh, Emma stopped. "You come near my son again and I'll kill you myself. Thank you Killian." Killian just nodded and waited until Emma and Henry were in the car and a safe distance away before he released the scum.

"Stay away from the boy and his mother. If I see you near either of them I'll call the cops." Killian went back to the field to clean up. Emma drove to her adoptive parents' house so there was no chance Walsh could follow them. Once they were inside the questions began.

"Henry, please tell me why you didn't tell me about Walsh." Emma said as she hugged her son.

"I didn't want you to lose him. You seemed so happy with him. You haven't looked at another guy since my dad and I wanted you to be happy. You deserve it."

"Henry, I don't care what I deserve. If a guy or anyone is hurting you, you need to tell me."

"Don't you want to find happiness?"

"Of course I would like it. I do have happiness already though. I have you. Your dad left me with the most precious thing in my life, you. If my happiness means you getting hurt, then I'd rather it just be me and you for the rest of my life. Nothing is worth you getting hurt. You're the most important thing in my life. I love you Henry."

"I love you too Mom." Emma hugged Henry to her even tighter and stroked the hair on his head. The one guy she was with since Neal abuses her son. She kissed Henry's head and tucked him in. She went downstairs and sat on the couch.

"Everything okay?" Her mother, Mary Margret, asked. Emma looked at her and accepted the hot cocoa that Mary Margret was holding out.

"Thanks. I don't know. Henry finally told me what was happening. Why didn't I see it? Why did I accept every excuse he gave me? I grew up in the foster system; I used all the excuses he gave me. How am I so stupid?"

"You're not stupid. You didn't see the signs. You're not superwoman you're allowed to make mistakes."

"Not when my son's life was in danger. If Killian hadn't said something who knows what would've happened to Henry."

"Why did Henry wait so long to tell you?" Emma started to chew on her fingernail.

"He said he didn't want to take away my happiness. He said I deserved to be happy and he wasn't going to ruin that. Can you believe that? My son was willing to get beat so I could be happy. It's supposed to be the other way around. I'm the one who's supposed to give up their safety for the ones I love."

"That's not true either. Neither of you should be getting hurt. Emma, you need to not take all the blame. This isn't your fault. Walsh is the one that hit Henry, not you."

"If Killian had called the cops, Henry would've been taken away from me and I would've powerless to stop it. I wouldn't even be able to defend myself because I'm at just as much fault as Walsh is. I didn't know what was going on under my own roof, to my own son. What kind of mother does that make me? My own son was being abused while I was out."

"You were working Emma. You thought you could trust Walsh. He didn't give you any reason not to trust him. You need to give yourself a break." Mary Margret said coming over and sitting next to her. She placed her hand on her daughter's and gently squeezed it. Emma put her hot cocoa down and seemed to stop breathing for a minute. Then, suddenly, she turned to her mom as tears that were filling her eyes finally escaped at the same time a sob escaped her throat.

"Mommy I don't know what to do." Mary Margret quickly put her own cocoa down and pulled her daughter into her arms. Emma cried into her mother's shoulder and held on tight.

"It's okay Emma. You're not alone. Your father and I will help you."

"You and I will help who with what?" Emma's father, David, asked coming through the door catching the tail of the conversation. He looked at his crying daughter in his wife's arms and went over. "Emma? What's wrong? Did Walsh do something to you?" That just made Emma cry harder. He looked at his wife for help and she just held her hand up indicating to give her a minute.

"He's been hitting Henry and I didn't even see it. I'm horrible mother!" David and Mary Margret's hearts broke hearing their daughter hurting so badly. Henry was sitting at the top of the stairs and heard his mother call herself a bad mother. He felt tears gather in his eyes. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt his mother and yet that's what he had done. He slowly walked down the stairs.

"You're not a horrible mother, Mom. You're a great mother." Emma wiped her face before pulling away from her mother. She looked at Henry. "You've done everything you possible could for me. You're really a great mother. You take care of me and love me. That's all I wanted." Emma smiled at her son. Henry came over before Emma could blink; Henry had wrapped her up in a huge hug. "Don't doubt yourself Mom." Emma kissed Henry's head and held her son tight. It was going to be a long road to recovery for both of them, mainly Henry, but as long as they had each other they would be okay.


End file.
